| "Trump’s Jan. 11 press conference made clear that, with regard to conflicts of interest, his aspirational behavioral standard—his benchmark for compliance—would be whatever he could get away with. When the president brags that he is unencumbered by the well-developed and familiar rules that govern public servants, mandate transparency, and constrain self-dealing, WH counsel Donald McGahn needs to define what standards—if any—the administration respects or aspires to.So far, McGahn appears sanguine, if not complicit, with the president’s so-called ethics team, comprised of Sheri Dillon, a tax attorney; George Sorial, a long-time Trump ally associated with Trump University and its $25 million fraud settlement; and, most recently, Bobby Burchfield, a high-profile litigator. If McGahn can’t—or won’t attempt to—convince the president to resolve his most egregious conflicts and rein in his most base instincts, how can McGahn hold the line on lesser officials?" The question is: how long can this scoundrel last? |
